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The flight plan of BOE4, which outlined a Boeing 787 Dreamliner across the entire United States. Image: Flightaware.com

787 manufacturer Boeing got creative with a test flight over the United States yesterday, sketching-out the outline of a 787 aircraft in the skies overhead. While the aircraft, on an endurance mission to test its new engines, looked like any other aircraft in the sky, flight tracker apps and websites drew and displayed the unique path it took. The early stages of the sketch drew a lot of attention in social media, as did the very long flight time of nearly 18 hours.

On the Flightaware.com website, the completed flight showed the sketched jet, which is also referred to by many aviation enthusiasts as the “Dreamliner.” The nose of the plane outline points toward Boeing’s home in Washington, its wings stretch from northern Michigan to southern Texas, and the tail reaches Alabama. The lengthy journey was designed to prove-out new Rolls Royce engines used on the aircraft.

The flight plan, which used US airspace as a virtual “Etch-a-Sketch”, took 17 hours and 46 minutes and covered 9,896 miles. This test journey is longer than the longest commercial airline route which links Doha, Qata to Auckland, New Zealand. That long flight takes 16 hours and 10 minutes to fly and covers a distance of 9,021 miles.

The Defense Department on Tuesday was able to successfully destroy a mock intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific with a new hit-to-kill vehicle meant to protect the United States from the growing threat from North Korea.

The launch of a Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor missile interceptor missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California against an ICBM-class target fired from the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands resulted in a “direct collision,” the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency said in a statement released today.

“The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment for the GMD system and a critical milestone for this program,” Vice Admiral Jim Syring, the agency’s director, said. “This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat.”

The ICBM-class target was fired from the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Photograph: Weatherboy October 2017

While this mission was a success; previous ones have not been as lucky. In the last 17 test launches, 8 failed.

The hit-to-kill missile, developed by Boeing Co. for the Missile Defense Agency, was designed to strike and destroy an incoming long-range missile by kinetic force, often compared to hitting a bullet with a bullet.

North Korea continues to escalate tensions with the United States, saying they plan to deploy a nuclear war on the US mainland soon. North Korean leader King Jong Unsupervised the test of a new ballistic missile controlled by a precision guidance system and ordered the development of more powerful strategic weapons, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday. “He expressed the conviction that it would make a greater leap forward in this spirit to send a bigger ‘gift package’ to the Yankees” in retaliation for American military provocation, KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

Missile tests in recent weeks by North Korea have shown a level of advancement and sophistication that has some concerned North Korea is perfecting the technology needed to launch nuclear missiles to the United States mainland. After the recent North Korean missile test, South Korea’s defense minister said that North Korea’s ballistic missile program is progressing much faster than expected.

The Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mission 4 lands at NASA ‘s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, Fla., May 7, 2017. Managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the X-37B program is the newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft that performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies. Photograph: US Air Force

The mysterious X-37B, an experimental spacecraft/aircraft flown by the US Air Force, landed in Florida over the weekend.

After circling Earth for an unprecedented 718 days, the X-37B as OTV-4 touched down Sunday, May 7, at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The landing at the SLF was the first since the final space shuttle mission landed on Earth in July 2011. The landing occurred at 7:47am, triggering a sonic boom that was heard over a large part of central Florida.

“Today marks an incredibly exciting day for the 45th Space Wing as we continue to break barriers,” said Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, the 45th Space Wing commander. “Our team has been preparing for this event for several years, and I am extremely proud to see our hard work and dedication culminate in today’s safe and successful landing of the X-37B.”

“The landing of OTV-4 marks another success for the X-37B program and the nation,” said Lt. Col. Ron Fehlen, X-37B program manager. “This mission once again set an on-orbit endurance record and marks the vehicle’s first landing in the state of Florida. We are incredibly pleased with the performance of the space vehicle and are excited about the data gathered to support the scientific and space communities. We are extremely proud of the dedication and hard work by the entire team.”

The Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mission 4 lands at NASA ‘s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, Fla., May 7, 2017. Managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the X-37B program is the newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft that performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies. Photograph: US Air Force

While the US Air Force shared those remarks of satisfaction, they’ve said little else. The X-37B unmanned plane looks like a miniature space shuttle; it is 29 feet long and has a wing span of about 15 feet; it is roughly a quarter the size of the original space shuttle. The Boeing-built space plane was launched in May 2015 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. An Atlas 5 rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, carried the plane. No details were shared of when/where the craft entered space nor were any details of what it did above the Earth made public. Details of how it is flown and the technology on-board is classified.

The US Air Force has two X-37B craft in its fleet, but the program cost is kept secret.

The X-37B made its first flight in April 2010 and returned back to Earth after eight months of travel. In March 2011, a second mission was launched and it lasted 15 months. In December 2012, a third flight took place ; that mission lasted 22 months away from Earth. The X-37B typically lands at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California; this weekend’s launch was the first at Florida’s Space Coast.

According to the US Air Force, the next X-37B mission is likely to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station later this year. The specific timing and purpose are being kept secret.